Regret and Resolve
by Reading-Bennie
Summary: "Mama, I w-wished… I wished that dad w-would just go! That if he was j-just gone… If h-he w-was d-dead… M-my life w-would be e-easier!" Boruto clutched at Hinata's jacket. "And n-now… He's gone! I didn't mean to think that! Mama! I'm sorry!"


Boruto sat in silence and stared blankly ahead.

His father had jumped in front of him as a huge chakra blast came hurtling towards them.

The sight of his father glowing orange from donning Kuruma's full cloak, his arms spread wide to shield Boruto completely, his father's last words to him, had stunned him into silence; the light from the blast had been so bright and his mother's screams had been so foreign to him that he couldn't move. And when the light faded and the dust settled and his mother's voice stopped echoing…

His father was gone.

" _I hate you, old man! Sometimes I wish that you were gone, because then life would be easier!"_

One of the last things he'd said to his father.

He'd wished him gone… And now…

"Dad… no…"

"Boruto, move!" He heard his mother command. But he couldn't make his body listen. He looked up to see some kind of creature moving towards him. The thing raised its arm to strike. It never hit him, as he felt his mother scoop him off the ground and they jumped over the rooftops of the village.

It seemed like an eternity when Hinata finally stopped and set Boruto down. They were in the midst of several medic tents, people being healed left and right. As soon as Boruto's feet were on the ground, Hinata was off running, shouting for Himawari.

Boruto looked down at his feet, seeing a trail of blood. His head snapped back up as he heard his mother cry out, in time to see her fall to the ground, clutching at her leg. There was the source of the blood. A gash trailed the length of her leg, angry red; Hinata's skin was pale and ashy, her breathing shallow.

"Mom!" Boruto started forward. "Mom, are you okay?"

"I'm alright." Hinata pulled Boruto into her side, holding him close. "It's just a scratch. I'll be just fine."

"Mom…" Boruto buried his face in his mother's neck. "Mom, this is all my fault!"

"What?" Hinata smoothed her hand down her son's back. "Honey, what do you mean?"

"Dad! He's gone! Forever!" The tears he'd been fighting started to fall.

"Boruto, it's not your fault," Hinata shifted, biting back a painful grunt, and wrapped her son in her arms.

"Yes it is!" Boruto cried. "I was so mad mama, so mad! And I yelled at dad and I told him I hated him! And then…"

Hinata pressed a kiss to Boruto's temple, feeling his body shake with his cries.

"Mama, I w-wished… I wished that dad w-would just go! That if he was j-just gone… If h-he w-was d-dead… M-my life w-would be e-easier!" Boruto clutched at Hinata's jacket. "And n-now… He's gone! I didn't mean to think that! Mama! I'm sorry!"

"Oh, my little lightning bolt," Hinata cooed, gently rocking her son. She was slowly breaking, coming to the realization that her husband was gone forever. She pressed her cheek against Boruto's soft blonde hair, so much like Naruto's, listening to his cries: "Mama, I'm sorry! I didn't mean it!"

"Oh my god! Hinata! What happened? You two, help me over here!" Sakura Uchiha ran over to Boruto and his mother, signaling two Jōnin to lift her and carry her into the tent just to their left. "Boruto, I need you to stay out of the way; why don't you go find your sister."

Sakura disappeared into the tent with his mother. Boruto wiped his face and ran off to find Himawari. It didn't take him very long to locate his sister; upon seeing her, he snatched her hand and together they sprinted back to the tent holding their mother.

Hinata was sleeping when they burst into the tent. Sakura quickly gathered the two in her arms and instructed them to be very quiet. Leading them over to a spare cot next to Hinata, she told them that they could sit there and wait for their mother to wake up.

Boruto didn't know how much time had passed, just that he'd fallen asleep for most of that chunk. He woke up to soft sobs and a gentle shushing: mama was crying and Sakura was talking to her. Boruto pretended to still be sleeping and listened.

"Everything is fine on your end. The baby is doing well too; must be thanks to those stubborn Uzumaki genes. I want you to rest though, that gash on your leg was pretty deep and it's going to hurt for a couple days." Sakura murmured. "About Naruto…."

"He's gone Sakura, gone!" Hinata gasped. "After he's worked so hard to get where he is… gone! Taken from us in front of my eyes."

"Hinata…" Sakura reached out to hold her friend's hand. "Did you tell him about the baby?"

"I did. A few nights ago. We were planning on telling the other two tonight after…after the…" Hinata's voice trailed off. She started to cry again.

Boruto's heart dropped to his stomach. There was going to be another baby in the house… His mother was alone with three kids and his father was… Dad was… D-dea…

"Hinata, listen," Sakura's voice took on a serious tone. "I was just speaking with Sasuke before you woke up. He thinks he knows where Naruto is."

"Oh my god. Please, can he go there and bring his body home?"

"Hinata, Naruto isn't dead."

"Sa-Sakura… What are you saying?"

"Sasuke can sense Naruto's chakra moving around in another dimension. He's still alive; the only trouble is the dimensions themselves move fairly quickly, so it's taking some time to pin-point the exact dimension he's in. One perk of the Rinnegan."

"He's not dead?"

"No. He's very much alive, Hinata. This is Naruto Uzumaki we're talking about. He ended the Fourth Shinobi World War and saved the Earth from Toneri and the moon falling! Has the idiot grown that soft you forgot how strong he is?" Sakura softly chuckled.

"I just… Love him so much! It's hard not to think the worst when someone you love is concerned." Hinata wiped at her eyes.

"I know. I know. Don't worry Hinata, Sasuke will bring him back."

Boruto cracked an eye to see Sakura give his mom a hug. Dad was alive. Sasuke-sensei was going to go find him. Right then and there, Boruto made a silent promise: he was going to go with and bring his dad home, he was going to do it for mama, for Hima, for his dad, to apologize for everything he'd done-for being so difficult, selfish, for yelling at his dad and telling him he hated him, for cheating during the Chūnin exams. And to show his dad just how much he loved him.


End file.
